The present invention relates to buckles, and in particular to a snap buckle for releasably connecting straps, belts or the like, that includes various safety features that prevent inadvertent and unwanted release.
Safety straps are traditionally secured to grocery store carts or other similar vehicles to provide a seatbelt-type restraint in an effort to assure the safety of an occupant or item that is being transported in the shopping cart. Such devices are securely attached to the shopping cart in a manner such that the safety buckle does not become accidentally detached from the cart. Additionally, buckles are used to secure loads carried by various item containers such as backpacks, luggage, fanny packs, etc. The aforementioned devices typically utilize a conventional side release buckle wherein a male member having one or two side latching arms is coupled to a female member that has complimentary catches that enable the male and female members to interlockingly engage one another to secure the system.
Due to the type of systems that these side release buckles are utilized in, the buckles may be subject to various pressures on one or both sides thereof. In these conventional systems, pushing inwardly on one or both of the side latching arms such that the catches release the latches effects disengagement of the securement device. Due to the resiliency of the side latching arms, the disengagement of the side latching arms from the catch cause the side latching arms to spring back to their original position. This resilient force forces the male member to accelerate in an outwardly direction resulting in the male member sliding out of the guide channel of the female member. Furthermore, young children may try to disengage the buckle resulting in a risk to injury to the child.
Thus, a buckle with a safety feature, that is both difficult for a young child to disengage and resistant to unwanted and inadvertent disengagement due to external forces exerted on the buckle, is needed.
The present invention provides a safety buckle assembly that incorporates structural features that enable a strong and reliable coupling between the male and female members of the clip assembly. Due to these structural features, unwanted and inadvertent disengagement of the male member from the female member that may result in harm or damage to the occupants and/or items secured by the buckle is minimized.
According to the present invention, there is provided a safety buckle assembly comprising a male member that interlockingly and releasably engages a female member. The male member includes a base wall that has a pair of side locking arms each having a latch, a central locking arm having a latch, and a plurality of forming ribs extending therefrom. The central locking arm is longer in length than the side locking arms to afford the central locking arm greater resiliency and flexibility. The female member includes a receiving cavity, that receives the male member when the buckle is fastened, a push button release that engages the central locking arm, two opposing side catches that engage the side locking arm latches, a central catch that engages the central latch, and an opening that enables a user to disengage the buckle assembly in an alternative fashion. Two parallel guiding walls are formed in the cavity and used to guide the central locking arm when the male member engages the female member. The correct orientation of the buckle assembly is assured due to the engagement of the forming ribs with projections that extend from the cavity of the female member when the buckle assembly is fastened.